With Sivenathi ‘Special One’ Nontshinga set to defend his International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior-flyweight title on Saturday, 15 June, Rumble Africa Promotions (RAP) Teris Ntutu is hoping to get support from both the provincial and local governments.
Speaking while welcoming Nontshinga on Wednesday evening after the boxer had reclaimed his IBF junior-flyweight title with a 10th round stoppage win over Mexican boxer Adrian Curiel Dominguez last weekend, Ntutu made it clear that the fistic sport in the Eastern Cape needs some cash injection in order to compete with boxing from other provinces.
“We exposed other stables to the difficulties of staging tournaments. We pay R150 000 at the ICC just for the venue. We must pay for accommodation, we must pay for catering for the visitors. In as much as we are compared to other provinces, we need to talk and see how best we can take boxing forward. For boxing to be respected and attract investors, it must have numbers,” Ntutu said.
Nontshinga defended the IBF crown, defeating Regie Suganob from the Philippines on points at the East London International Convention Centre (ICC) early in July last year.
And it’s increasingly clear that the 25-year-old Nontshinga is going to be involved in a rematch with Filipino boxer Christian Araneta whom he defeated in an IBF junior-flyweight elimination bout at the Boardwalk Hotel and Casino in Gqeberha in 2021.
